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General Discussion

John Ireland
John Ireland
6,585 Points
Posted by John Ireland
John Ireland
6,585 Points

Job ready?

It's the end of 2016, and I've been on Treehouse for nearly 2 years now. I've used it as a supplemental tool to help get me through my Web Applicaitons Development certificate from University of Houston (which I just received, by the way), and can honestly say I have learned more through Treehouse than the courses I took at UH.

That being said, I'm wondering if I'm really ready to get a job after the front end development track. Thanks to Treehouse, I know HTML, and can use CSS and basic JavaScript(with a lot of google searches for the JS), while using Bootstrap, and learning jQuery. I also know MySql, and understand and can use some basic PHP code like includes, and requires so I don't have to write the same code over and over. I am absolutely NOT a designer, and I'm finding that the websites i come up with by myself look not so great.

My main question is "how possible is it for me to find work given my current level of skill?" I still feel in over my head, and need to get my sites looking a little more pro, and build more portfolio projects, but I feel like I should be able to find at least something out there........

Thanks in advance guys.

Unsubscribed User
Unsubscribed User
3,120 Points

Sit down and look at your favorite websites. Really study other websites and see what design elements make you drawn to them. What color schemes, typography, etc. do you like for certain types of websites? There is certainly a lot to keep in mind, but designs make the users stay on the site. Users immediately judge your websites by their "cover". My guess is that if you aren't happy with your website, no one else will be either. There are plenty of resources out there, though. You can get to where you want to be in no time.

2 Answers

Alex Arzamendi
Alex Arzamendi
10,042 Points
Alex Arzamendi
Alex Arzamendi
10,042 Points

Just get yourself out there and start marketing yourself as a developer and sure enough you will get a job regardless of your experience. Now, if you are worried, that is fine, no one is completely ready for their first development job, I've had 3 major jobs and I was not entirely prepared for them, what kept me going was that I am a quick learner and this is my passion, if the same thing applies to you then don't worry. Just go for the junior dev position, find yourself a good mentor and ask good questions. You will be fine :)

John Ireland
John Ireland
6,585 Points
John Ireland
John Ireland
6,585 Points

I definitely love web development, and am continuously learning. I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to succeed, but I have the issue of being the only person I know in web development, so finding a mentor is pretty difficult. I'm still trying to figure out how competent I need to be for that first job(which is where I'll probably learn the most, I'll assume).

Dustin Brown
Dustin Brown
2,433 Points
Dustin Brown
Dustin Brown
2,433 Points

Hey John. First, congrats on earning that certificate! That's a great accomplishment worth celebrating. Second, I definitely second the mentor idea. I know they can be hard to find, especially if you don't live in a "tech" city. But there are folks out there willing to help. In almost every engineering-related podcast I listen to, the host encourages people to reach out via email/twitter if they have questions or need help. Take advantage of that! Or if you read a particularly helpful blogpost, email the author thanking them for their work. Shoot, you can even reach out to the teachers here at Treehouse! It requires you to put yourself out there, I know, but it's worth it. Good luck and congratulations again. ?

(Also, I'm an engineer for Treehouse. Feel free to hit me up: dustin@teamtreehouse.com)

John Ireland
John Ireland
6,585 Points
John Ireland
John Ireland
6,585 Points

Thanks a lot guys. I actually was applying on this one website, and saw it had a chatbox telling you to ask a question if you had one.....so I did. Ended up introducing myself and talking with someone for a bit, who then gave me their number to call right then for my first technical interview. Man, was it crazy! They seemed to like me, but I'm not sure if I was advanced enough for the job. It does go to show though, reaching out to someone a bit more directly will get you a lot farther than the regular applying routine, I actually hadn't even applied yet. I was pretty nervous and excited, but it definitely gave me the confidence that it is possible to do this. Going to go back through the CSS courses and get a bit stronger in my skills!